Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask left just 1:12 into Tuesday night's game in Columbus after getting hit in the head by a passing Blue Jacket.

Emil Benstrom was cutting across the front of the Bruins' crease when it appeared his elbow or forearm caught Rask on the side on the head. Rask took off his mask and shook his head, then skated to the bench and down the tunnel. He was replaced in net by Jaroslav Halak, who remained in goal at the start of the second period.

Halak also played on Monday night, a 6-5 shootout loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia.

Rask's injury came a day after he decided to skip the All-Star game, choosing instead to take that Jan. 24-26 weekend for self-care.

"I have to be kind of selfish here," he said, "thinking about how much hockey we played last year, and a short summer and thinking about playing until June again."

Rask, 32, has appeared in 28 games this season, after leading the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final last season in combined 70 regular-season and playoff games.

Plus, the schedule worked against him making an All-Star Game appearance. The Bruins' bye week falls around the All-Star break, as Boston doesn't have a game scheduled from Jan. 22 through Jan. 30.

"Just because it falls in the middle of the bye week, you want that break. You want to spend some time with the family," Rask said. "It was a selfish decision to go away and take care of the mind and body and rejuvenate. Be ready for the last couple of busy months of the season."

Per NHL rules, Rask is suspended for one game immediately before or after the NHL All-Star break for having been selected to the game and not appearing. The Bruins visit the Winnipeg Jets in their first game post-All Star break Jan. 31. Rask said he spoke with Bruins teams officials, who were "fine" with him making this choice.

Australia are primed for the threat posed by India at the start of their T20 World Cup campaign next month with head coach Matthew Mott going as far as saying they are the most feared T20 batting line-up in the world.

The Australia-India match at the Sydney Showgrounds Stadium on February 21 has the makings of a high-octane start to the tournament but before that the teams will meet in a tri-series, also involving England, which will provide an intense build-up to the competition.

India and England are the only teams to have beaten Australia since January 2018 - all in T20Is - with India getting the better of the group stage match at the last T20 World Cup in the Caribbean although it had no bearing on Australia's progression through a tournament they eventually won.

India will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, who struck an unbeaten 171 against Australia in the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup, with the top order also including the prodigious 15-year-old Shafali Verma.

"There's no doubt their strength is the batting. They've got four world-class batters and when I say world-class I mean top of the tree guns. They will always be a threat," Mott told ESPNcricinfo. "Their bowling, their plans have worked quite well over the years but I think that's their biggest area for growth. They probably need to produce some more fast bowlers. In a T20 they would be the most feared batting line-up - ours is pretty feared but with them you know that if you take a wicket another good player just keeps rolling out."

"That tri-series comes at a perfect time. We've always viewed the next month as a really good opportunity to play against the two other best teams in the world. It can't get any better. If we dropped a couple of games there it's not the end of the world and we expect to be taken to task."

Australia, who will name their T20 World Cup squad on Thursday, are in what is considered to be the tougher of the two pools at the T20 World Cup alongside India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with the top two progressing to the semi-finals, but they see benefits in beginning their title defence against one of the contenders for the prize.

"For us it's almost a blessing playing India up front, it will be a real test of how we are going as a group and how they are going as well," Alyssa Healy told ESPNcricinfo. "They are a world-class side and when they are playing well they are hard to stop. I actually think they are very strong in Australian conditions as well, they have a lot of players who have been out to play Big Bash and a lot of players in that India A series. They'll be hard to stop, but we know if we are playing our best cricket we are the No. 1 team in the world and we should be able to handle it."

Due to scheduling clashes with their tour of West Indies there we no India players in this year's first standalone WBBL. But plenty of other names who will feature in the tournament were on display, led by the prolific Sophie Devine who was named player of the tournament, and Healy believes it will bring teams closer together on the field.

"Hundred percent, and that's what's been so good about the WBBL, a lot of players from around the world get experience in our conditions," she said. "Being slightly biased we'd have loved them not to play this year just to take that out of play, but it's great to have them here. Sophie Devine is in red-hot form and to have New Zealand in our pool, I think we have a really tricky pool, and the two teams that go through to the semis are going to have to earn it. Hopefully they don't take too many learnings from the Big Bash into their own sides, but hopefully there's some good cricket."

Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly is retiring at age 28 after eight seasons in the NFL.

Kuechly made the surprising announcement in a video posted on the Panthers' website on Tuesday night.

"In my heart, I know it's the right thing to do." pic.twitter.com/mSDyJ0iEMw

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) January 15, 2020

"Now is the right time for me [to step away]," the seven-time Pro Bowler said in the video. "It's a tough decision. I've thought about it a lot and now is the right chance for me to move on."

Kuechly was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2012 after being the ninth overall draft pick and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, and he played an integral role in helping Carolina reach the Super Bowl after an NFL-best 15-1 record in the 2015 season. However, he missed 10 games in his NFL career due to concussions (three in 2015; six in 2016; one in 2017), which might have led to his decision.

Kuechly was in tears when he was carted off the field after a concussion during the 2016 season, a striking moment that highlighted the NFL's ongoing problem with brain injuries.

"It makes me sad because I love playing this game," Kuechly said. "I've been playing it since I was a little kid and it's my favorite thing in the world to do. The memories I have from this place and this organization and playing on the field with these guys will never go away."

Panthers tight end Greg Olsen was among several teammates and NFL players to pay tribute to Kuechly on their Twitter accounts.

Words can't describe who Luke Kuechly is as a person, friend, and teammate. We have shared countless memories together both on the field and away from it. I feel honored to be his friend and I'll always appreciate the impact he has had on my life. Love you buddy pic.twitter.com/0DHYkOwDp1

— Greg Olsen (@gregolsen88) January 15, 2020

Kuechly finishes his career with 1,092 tackles, which is the most by any player since coming into the league in 2012 as a first round pick out of Boston College.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

To close the opening day of Under Armour's Human Performance Summit, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid announced he will launch his first signature shoe with the company later this fall.

Officially dubbed the Under Armour Embiid 1, the late 2020 launch will make Embiid the only current center in the league with his own signature shoe.

"It's been a long and great process," Embiid said. "It's not a big man shoe. It's a shoe for any basketball player."

Only sixteen current NBA players have their own signature shoe, which incorporates their design and performance feedback throughout the creative process, and includes a 5% royalty from the sales of each pair.

The 7-foot franchise center first signed the lucrative five-year shoe deal with Under Armour in October, 2018, negotiated by Creative Artists Agency, making him the highest paid player at his position.

For now, the mid-cut, mesh-based signature shoe has only been previewed in a phone-restricted setting, with Embiid potentially debuting his namesake sneaker on the court as early as this spring's playoffs.

"Early on in the design process, Joel shared that he thought his life was like a movie, and like movies, all basketball careers have origin stories," Under Armour designer Reggie Wilson said. "Since Joel's story began in Cameroon, that was the creative focus of our first colorway, 'Origin.'"

A sizable support panel with flowing lines evokes a volcano's eruption along the side of the shoe, while an outline of Africa is on the heel, the first point of contact for anyone wearing it.

"As a kid, I never could have dreamed of being in this situation with my own signature shoe," Embiid said. "The process has been incredible with the work that's been put in. Not a lot of guys in my profession get this opportunity, and I'm truly grateful for it."

While Embiid does own the trademark for the phrase "The Process" and has taken it on as a nickname, he clarified that he views that phrase as more of a team-oriented concept, highlighting the collective rise of the 76ers since he was drafted 3rd overall in 2014.

His time with Under Armour over the past fourteen months has "felt like family," he said, leading him to tell his personal story and opt for the "Embiid 1" naming instead. Additionally, he wanted to utilize his family's name and honor his late brother Arthur, who tragically passed away in 2014 after being struck by a vehicle back home in Cameroon.

While Embiid has since earned a coveted signature shoe through his combination of All-Star-level play, the team's ongoing success and his personality away from the court, the endorsement deal had been centered on providing access to basketball camps for kids in both the Philadelphia area and in Cameroon.

Embiid is forever grateful for the access to NBA player and fellow Cameroon native Luc Mbah a Moute's basketball camp, where he was discovered as a 16-year-old just learning to play the game. He then moved to Florida to finish high school, soon earning a college scholarship to Kansas and rapidly ascending as a player.

"When I sat down with Under Armour, one of the first things we talked about was how this can be bigger than just shoes, bigger than just basketball," Embiid said upon signing with the company. "I want to help change people's lives like Luc changed my life."

The Embiid 1 will be only the third signature basketball shoe for Under Armour, following the early Brandon Jennings series and ongoing Stephen Curry line, after the company first launched a basketball footwear line at retail in 2010. Embiid is currently second overall in Eastern Conference voting at the frontcourt positions.

"We didn't view Joel as a big man," said Kris Stone, Under Armour's senior director of global sports marketing for basketball, after signing Embiid in 2018. "We're not gonna put him in any sort of box. He's a great player who has all sorts of incredible skills and a bigger-than-life personality."

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- As Anthony Davis stood by a wall at the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility and spoke to reporters for the first time since taking a nasty fall against the New York Knicks last week that has caused him to miss L.A.'s past three games, he said he was pain-free.

In that moment.

"Right now, just talking to you? Zero [pain] right now," Davis said Tuesday. "It's the movement that kind of gets me. But ... I'm getting closer to getting back on the floor with these guys."

Davis suffered a bruised backside when he hit the floor hard on his tailbone area after trying to block a shot by New York's Julius Randle. He missed the rest of that game -- a win by L.A. -- and then the Lakers' next three games. Three more wins.

"The last three games, it looks like they don't need me," Davis said, showering praise on teammates such as Kyle Kuzma, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels and Alex Caruso, who all have stepped up in his absence. "So kind of taking it slower than usual."

Lakers coach Frank Vogel, however, wanted to make it clear that the Lakers very much need Davis to accomplish their goals this season.

"This is L.A. You know everything I say will be quoted out of context. So I was going to make a joke, but I'm not going to joke because we definitely need Anthony Davis," Vogel said. "But we are undefeated this week without him. Something along the lines of, 'Well, if you look at the statistics ... I don't know what the joke would be. I'm not very funny."

Davis' injury was no laughing matter. L.A.'s star big man detailed his thought process immediately following the fall.

"It was very painful," Davis said. "Hard for me to walk, obviously. It was pretty tough for me to just roll over on my back and on my side at the initial point of contact. It was tough. I didn't want any speculation, but I was just praying that it wasn't anything too serious."

Davis received X-rays at the arena and an MRI later that night, which revealed that he'd avoided a major setback that would have sidelined him for a chunk of the season. He would only have to rehabilitate a muscle bruise, or what the team dubbed a gluteus maximus contusion.

"Very relieving knowing that just based on how it felt, a day-to-day thing, [rather] than a fracture or anything like that where you need surgery and you're out weeks or months or whatever," Davis said. "I'm glad [that my return timeline is] just based on how I feel."

Davis said he still hasn't sprinted since the injury, nor has he had any contact drills or live 5-on-5 play in practice. He hasn't ruled out playing Wednesday at home against the Orlando Magic, but he expressed patience in his approach.

"Every day it's getting better and I'm a lot closer than I was three days ago," Davis said. "Made some more progress today. When I feel like I'm able to get back to my old self and do the moves I've always done and be successful at it, that's when I'll be able to get back on the floor."

Vogel backed up Davis' measured plan.

"We're always going to be cautious with all of our players and take the marathon approach with injuries and return to play at the right pace," Vogel said. "But he's shown great toughness throughout this year."

Alex Cora, who won the World Series in 2018 in his debut season as manager of the Boston Red Sox but has been linked this offseason to two sign-stealing schemes, has mutually agreed to part ways with the team.

Cora, 44, led the Red Sox past the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in 2018, one year after he won the World Series as the Astros' bench coach.

He is awaiting discipline from MLB for his role in a sign-stealing scheme by the Astros and is still under investigation for a different sign-stealing scheme that is said to have occurred with the Red Sox in 2018.

In MLB's findings on Houston announced Monday, Cora is described by commissioner Rob Manfred as being "involved in developing both the banging scheme and utilizing the replay review room to decode and transmit signs. Cora participated in both schemes, and through his active participation, implicitly condoned the players' conduct."

In a statement released Tuesday, the Red Sox said that given the investigation's findings, "we collectively decided that it would not be possible for Alex to effectively lead the club going forward."

Manfred said he was withholding discipline for Cora until MLB completes its investigation into the allegations against the Red Sox, but he is expected to receive a harsh penalty.

"We agreed today that parting ways was the best thing for the organization," Cora said in Tuesday's statement. "I do not want to be a distraction to the Red Sox as they move forward. My two years as manager were the best years of my life. It was an honor to manage these teams and help bring a World Series Championship back to Boston."

The Astros acted quickly after discipline for the team was announced Monday, firing both manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow. Had they stayed with Houston, Hinch and Luhnow would have been suspended for the entire 2020 season. Houston was also fined $5 million and will lose its first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021.

The Red Sox allegedly used video to decode opponents' sign sequences and passed the information to their players. But they are not accused of going as far as the Astros in terms of communicating the knowledge -- such as the Astros' trash-can banging -- to players at the plate.

Cora replaced John Farrell as Boston's manager after the team twice finished last under Farrell, despite winning the 2013 World Series with him. With Cora at the helm in 2018, the Red Sox raced to a 108-54 regular-season record and an easy win in the AL East. They led the majors with a .268 team batting average and 876 runs scored.

Boston then dominated the postseason with an 11-3 mark, posting wins over the Yankees and Astros in the AL division and championship series, respectively, before defeating the Dodgers in the World Series.

Not long after Cora's club paraded through the streets of Boston, the Red Sox announced that they had renegotiated his contract, including an extension through the 2021 season, with a club option for 2022.

"This is a sad day for us," owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and CEO Sam Kennedy said in a shared statement. "Alex is a special person and a beloved member of the Red Sox. We are grateful for his impact on our franchise. We will miss his passion, his energy and his significant contributions to the communities of New England and Puerto Rico."

The Red Sox couldn't sustain 2018's success in Cora's second season, finishing 84-78 and third in the division, 19 games behind the Yankees.

Cora, who worked as an ESPN analyst before leaving for the Astros, played 14 MLB seasons, including parts of four seasons with the Red Sox, winning the 2007 World Series with Boston. He also played for the Dodgers, Indians, Mets and Rangers before finishing his career with the Washington Nationals in 2011.

A utility infielder largely known as a shortstop, Cora was a career .243 hitter and finished with 35 home runs and 286 RBIs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Third baseman Josh Donaldson has agreed to a four-year deal with the Minnesota Twins, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

It will pay him $84 million over the first four years and includes a $16 million club option with an $8 million buyout. In total, the deal includes $92 million in guaranteed money, with a chance to increase to $104 million in value if Donaldson hits escalators on the option.

Donaldson, 34, is a three-time All-Star and the 2015 American League MVP. He rebounded from two straight injury-riddled seasons to hit .259 with 37 homers and 94 RBIs in 155 games for the Atlanta Braves last season.

He was a National League Gold Glove Award finalist at third base and fit into a powerful middle-of-the-lineup trio with Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. that combined for 116 home runs and helped propel the Braves to their second straight NL East title.

Donaldson, who grew up in Alabama as a Braves fan, earned $23 million on a one-year contract last season that gave him a chance to show that he was healthy and back to near-MVP form, setting him up for a much more lucrative payday in the current free-agent market.

The slugging third baseman won his MVP award in 2015 after hitting 41 homers and leading the majors with 122 runs and topping the AL with 123 RBIs in his first year with the Toronto Blue Jays after arriving from the Oakland Athletics in a blockbuster 2014 trade. He hit .297 with 41 doubles to help the Blue Jays reach the playoffs for the first time since they won consecutive World Series in 1992 and '93.

Although Donaldson followed that with two more seasons of 30-plus home runs, a hip injury in 2016 and a strained right calf in 2017 cut into his production. During the 2018 season, Donaldson was limited to 52 games due to shoulder inflammation and more calf issues, hitting .246 with eight homers and 23 RBIs. He was dealt to the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 31 and played 16 games, enough to persuade the Braves that he was fully recovered from his health issues.

Donaldson spent the first four years of his career with the Athletics and is a career .273 hitter.

After striking out on the top-tier starting pitchers on the market, settling for bargain-rate deals with Homer Bailey and Rich Hill, the AL Central champion Twins decided instead to double down on their offense.

The Twins set a major league record with 307 home runs last season on the way to the division title and were second in baseball with 939 runs behind the New York Yankees, who swept them in the AL Division Series.

Donaldson will give the Twins a sixth 30-home run hitter from last season, one of two with designated hitter Nelson Cruz who've topped the 40-homer mark at some point in their career. Cruz went deep 41 times last season, his fourth such time meeting that milestone.

The Twins made a big impression on Donaldson in their pitch meeting, sources told Passan, and Donaldson's connection with manager Rocco Baldelli was immediate and strong.

The acquisition of Donaldson will allow the Twins to move third baseman Miguel Sano across the diamond to the opposite corner. Sano has a powerful arm and is agile for his size, but the 26-year-old slugger who's listed at 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds ought to be better suited for the long term at first base.

Sano was at Target Field on Tuesday to finalize a three-year, $30 million contract and told reporters he was more than willing to switch spots, noting he's worked out at both positions during the offseason. The Twins created a vacancy at first base by not tendering a contract to C.J. Cron, who hit 25 homers in 125 games in 2019 but was hampered by a thumb injury that required offseason surgery. Cron signed with division rival Detroit.

MLB Network first reported Donaldson's agreement with Minnesota.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox and skipper Alex Cora announced that they had "mutually agreed to part ways" following bombshell revelations from Major League Baseball's investigation into the Houston Astros' sign-stealing during the 2017 season, when Cora served as Houston's bench coach.

Just one year removed from Boston's win in the 2018 World Series, both the president of baseball operations -- Dave Dombrowski, who was fired during a disappointing 2019 season -- and the manager who helped lead the team to its ninth championship are gone.

Now what?

Where the Red Sox will look for their next skipper is unclear, with Dombrowski's replacement, Chaim Bloom, forced to kick off a managerial search a month before the start of spring training.

Guiding the 2020 Red Sox will be difficult. The speculation around Mookie Betts' future in a Red Sox uniform remains, with the star outfielder determined to test free agency after the season. Bloom himself enters his first year as the team's principle decision-maker, leaping from the small-market problems of Tampa Bay to the big-market problems of Boston. Plus, with Major League Baseball investigating the Red Sox for their alleged sign-stealing scheme under Cora during their title run, any new skipper will be asked to manage the PR storm certain to follow.

Although Bloom spoke highly of his former manager, Cora's departure allows Boston's new chief baseball officer to put his stamp on this Red Sox team and at least try to turn the page on one of the more volatile two-year stretches in recent team history.

Here are some candidates who could make Bloom's list.

Ron Roenicke, Red Sox bench coach: Roenicke is the easiest choice for the Red Sox to make. He spent the past two seasons as the team's bench coach and Cora's right-hand man, previously managing the Milwaukee Brewers from 2011 to 2015. The 63-year-old Roenicke is also the only coach on the Red Sox staff with major league managerial experience, and he brings more than 20 years of experience coaching in the bigs.

Matt Quatraro, Tampa Bay Rays bench coach: Quatraro finished as a finalist for both the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants managing jobs this offseason but lost out to Derek Shelton and Gabe Kapler, respectively. Quatraro previously worked with Bloom while with the Rays, with whom he started his post-playing career as a minor league hitting coach. He then worked as the Indians' assistant hitting coach from 2014 to 2017 before rejoining Tampa Bay as third-base coach in 2018 and later being promoted to bench coach. If Bloom wants to go with someone he has worked with before, Quatraro stands out.

Carlos Febles, Red Sox third-base coach: Febles has been with the organization since 2007 and has served as manager of the rookie ball Lowell Spinners, the Low-A Greenville Drive, the High-A Salem Red Sox and the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. Febles is well-liked by the players, has a lot of experience working in the Boston organization and is bilingual as a native of the Dominican Republic.

Tim Hyers, Red Sox hitting coach: Hyers enters his third season with the Red Sox coaching staff, having previously worked as an area scout for the team from 2009 to 2012 and as minor league hitting coordinator from 2013 through 2015 before working as the Los Angeles Dodgers' assistant hitting coach in 2016 and 2017. When Cora was hired before the 2018 season, Hyers rejoined the Red Sox organization as hitting coach.

Jason Varitek, Red Sox special assistant to the general manager: It seems like Red Sox Nation has long been counting down the days for Varitek, a former team captain and fan favorite, to return to the Fenway Park dugout as manager. The rumors have floated since Varitek retired in 2011, and he'd likely receive a lot of public support from fans.

Varitek became a regular presence at Fenway before the 2018 season, working as a catching coordinator alongside Chad Epperson, and he has been vocal about his managing dreams as of late. He is regularly seen in the Red Sox clubhouse before home games and has developed a more hands-on role with the team rather than pursuing more front-office duties.

Also worth noting: Bloom's manager in Tampa Bay was a former catcher with little managerial experience, Kevin Cash, who served as the Cleveland Indians' bullpen coach under Terry Francona for two seasons before becoming the Rays' skipper in 2015.

Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox second baseman: When Red Sox players are asked who might make the best manager one day, the most frequent answer is Pedroia, and it's easy to see why. Pedroia is noted for his high baseball IQ and his love of the game, but though he has barely played the past two seasons, totaling nine games in 2018 and 2019, the Red Sox star is still trying to rehab the left knee injury that has robbed him of his playing time. His ambition -- if not his ability -- to return to the field as a player would have to change for this to be a consideration.

Still, the trend of hiring inexperienced managers has continued the past few seasons, with notable success stories such as Cash, Aaron Boone, Craig Counsell and Rocco Baldelli. One notable supporter of Pedroia's potential as a manager? Dombrowski.

"He probably doesn't need much of an interview, really," Dombrowski told the Boston Herald in 2018. "He has the respect of all the other players, he has the leadership skills, he has the drive, he has passion for the game. So I could see him being a manager in the future, if he chooses to do that, I don't know if he wants to do that. I've never had that conversation with him, but players respect him and respect his knowledge."

TULSA, Okla. – There may not have been anyone happier inside the River Spirit Expo Center on Tuesday during preparations for Warren CAT Qualifying Night at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals than Zeb Wise.

Or at least, if there was someone happier than Wise, you’d have been hard pressed to find them.

Wise was wearing an ear-to-ear grin as he suited up to tackle his second attempt at the Chili Bowl, in part because he’s making his debut for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports this week.

It’s an opportunity that many weren’t expecting to develop, after Wise developed the first few years of his midget career with KKM rival Clauson-Marshall Racing, but it’s a pairing that has come with plenty of hype.

One of dirt racing’s hottest young prospects teaming with the organization that has won the last five Chili Bowl Saturday features? Count Wise in among those eager to see how it all shakes out.

“Man, people don’t understand how good it feels to have this shot and to be able to come back and go midget racing,” Wise said. “Keith’s team is one of the best out there, and he had been in talks with us for a while to be able to sit in one of his cars and go to work together, so to be able to have accomplished putting that together last month and now be here at the Chili Bowl ready to go … I’m just excited, man.

“It’s not going to be a lot – maybe 10 races or so, given my sprint car schedule with the All Stars (at Sam McGhee Motorsports) – but a couple of mid-week races, the BC39, maybe some of the West Coast stuff at the end I think we’ll try and do,” Wise added. “And obviously, it all starts here. I’m just ready to go. Obviously, everyone in this building knows what this team has done here at the Chili Bowl; they’re as good as it gets, so hopefully we can add to it this week and help to give them another strong run.”

While Wise is bursting at the seams to begin his Keith Kunz Motorsports tenure on a high note, he was quick to note that the decision to leave Clauson-Marshall Racing for new pastures wasn’t easy, by any means.

“It was a very tough decision,” Wise explained. “It was tough for us, not only on a racing scale, but we’re all friends and I’ve been treated like family for the past few years with Clauson-Marshall and it was a very tough decision for me to make. It’s part of racing, though, as hard as that reality is.

“They gave me an opportunity three years ago that I’m very thankful for every day, and I wouldn’t be standing here or talking about any of this if it wasn’t for them,” Wise continued. “It was very tough on a personal level, but that’s part of racing and we’ll move on and find our paths forward for the future.”

But though Wise’s racing relationship with CMR will change, the 17-year-old from Angola, Ind., said he’ll still consider Tim Clauson and Richard Marshall, as well as their crew, as his friends in the long run.

“The ride change for me didn’t change anything with our friendship, especially between me and Tim,” said Wise. “We still talk and we’re really close. I think I was kind of like a son to him, and he was honestly like a dad to me. Nothing’s changed other than I’m going mostly sprint car racing … and Tim made it clear that he’s going to (still) support me in everything I’ve done.

“I think that says a lot about us two as friends on a professional level going into this Chili Bowl.”

Looking back at the racing at hand, Wise knows he’s in the best position he’s been in yet going into Chili Bowl Nationals week, as well as with the team that all eyes are on every year.

However, much like his smile would suggest, Wise is relaxed and worry-free as he gears up to chase both his first preliminary night win and – later in the week – potentially his first Golden Driller.

“I try not to put any of that pressure on myself, and I know they’re not going to put that pressure on me,” noted Wise of the KKM squad. “We all know they’ve had success there and I think we’re going to be a good combination. I don’t feel any pressure. I’m just going to go out there and treat it like another race and another car and just go out there and race my hardest … and whatever happens, happens.

“We’ll go out there and do our best, and I think we’ll have a pretty good week,” he added. “Obviously Keith’s cars know their way around the Chili Bowl. That’s pretty clear, with three wins (in a row) with Christopher (Bell) and then the two years before that with Rico (Abreu). So I feel like I’ve put myself in a good position and I know Keith is going to do everything he can to get me comfortable.

“I feel at home with these guys and I think we’re going to be just fine. I really do.”

Each month in SPEED SPORT Magazine we highlight some of our favorite Twitter posts from racing personalities from various disciplines. Here is the SPEED SPORT Twitter Me This from December 2019.

Ben Kennedy (@BenKennedy33): Thanksgiving weekend: Holiday gift shopping. Monday: Unsubscribe from every email newsletter.

Kyle Steffens (@kylestffens8): Tonight, wife asked me if I wanted to go to Target. This is with a 3 year old and an 8 month old. 3 hours later, snacks, toy cars and a new cell phone we are out of Target. Aren’t the holidays great lol

Danny Dietrich (@dannydietrich): I’ve gotten boring on Twitter. Shame.

Sam Mayer (@sam_meyer_): My first weekend off in awhile and I’m going nuts already.

Jeb Burton (@JebBurtonRacing): Weekends are like pay checks, they don’t last very long and there isn’t enough of them.

Coleman Pressley (@ColemanPressley): Today I was “that guy” trying to load a trampoline in the back of a minivan with an audience in the background wondering if I would go back into the store and ask for help. I did my man duty and accomplished the task alone.

Steve Casebolt (@caseboltc9): Just left the sunglasses store. Tried on about every pair in there. Wife told me every pair looked bad on me. I’m starting to think the glasses aren’t the problem.

Sean Rayhall (@seanrayhall): Public Service Announcement, walk on the right side of a walkway when you’re in the USA or I will run you over. Thanks in advance.

Steve Letarte (@SteveLetarte): Grocery shopping the Sunday before Thanksgiving is a little like a mid-race restart @MartinsvilleSwy … still kinda polite. Want some cart position but not willing to make contact. Now Tuesday/Wednesday this week, look out.

Brian Keselowski (@KeselowskiBrian): Damn I must be getting old, I just got called Brad’s dad.

Conor Daly (@ConorDaly22): Let me tell you guys something… if you really want to spice up your life, try driving around in a car that’s power steering system randomly fails. Turn in – normal, mid-corner…GONE. All arms and elbows trying not to hit parked cars and pedestrians. The Subaru is a wild ride.

Regan Smith (@ReganSmith): Turn signals are a lost art form.

Ty Gibbs (@TyGibbs_): 100 percent the bread sticks you don’t eat @olivegarden go into the next basket.

Chris Ferguson (@ChrisFerguson22): I drive two fast cars, call them goose and maverick.

Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin): It’s bad when you get rid of close to 80 lbs. of clothes out of your closet and it doesn’t even look like you made much of a dent.